


James Rhodes' How-To Guide For What To Do When You Find Out Your Best Friend Is A Clothes Stealing Gremlin

by rebelmeg, remreader



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Clothes Stealing, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Improper Use of Fire Extinguishers, MIT Era, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21555754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/remreader/pseuds/remreader
Summary: Rhodey can't seem to find his clothes.  Tony is hiding under the covers and won't come out.  It's a mystery.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 139
Collections: IronHusbands





	James Rhodes' How-To Guide For What To Do When You Find Out Your Best Friend Is A Clothes Stealing Gremlin

**Author's Note:**

> Rem and I have been trying to pull a collab together for AGES (I think we have 3 others running around somewhere), but of course the one that got finished first is the one that sparked off a photo manip that Rem did of Tony Stark wearing a latke costume... The picture of baby RDJ in his jammies was clearly too precious not to use as fic fodder, and where MIT-age Tony goes, Rhodey is sure to be right behind him!

“Hey, Tony?” Rhodey walked into their dorm bedroom, flicking on the light and looking all over. “Have you seen my MIT sweatshirt?”

Still half-asleep and groaning at the light, Tony rolled over and mumbled incoherently into his pillow.

Rhodey was rummaging through the clothes dresser on his side of the room, making far too much noise for whatever time of the day (or night) it was. “The green one, I know I washed it last week, but I can’t find it.”

Feeling a slight trickle of guilt, Tony patted around to tug his blanket further up over himself, trying to hide the pilfered green hoodie he was wearing before Rhodey spotted it.

“Actually, come to think of it, my red t-shirt has gone missing too, and my pajama pants with the hole in the knee. You think Dum-E might have done something with them?”

Curling further in on himself, making sure all his limbs were covered, Tony didn’t reply.

Which might have been his second mistake, seeing as how his first was stealing half of Rhodey’s wardrobe.

With a long-suffering sigh, Rhodey stalked over to Tony’s bed and grabbed the covers, giving them a tug. “C’mon, you lay-abed, it’s nearly ten.”

“Nope!” Tony yelped into his pillow, digging his hands into the covers and clinging to them with all his might. He had to protect his secrets!

“You butthead, get up and help me find my cl—”

Tony shrieked and flailed as Rhodey yanked the blanket off him, but it was far too late. Rhodey was gaping as he stared down at his roommate, shock and betrayal on his face.

“It was you!”

“I was cold!”

“ _You_ stole my clothes!”

“They’re really comfortable!”

“You little weasel, give them back!”

A tussle, the kind that elementary school kids got into on the playground, ensued, Rhodey valiantly trying to yank his own sweatshirt off of Tony while Tony flopped and wiggled like a landed fish.

“Finder’s keepers, it’s mine now!” Tony yelled, trying not to laugh as Rhodey inadvertently tickled him.

“That’s my favorite hoodie! AND MY FAVORITE T-SHIRT TOO! TONY STARK, YOU CLOTHES STEALING GREMLIN, I AM GONNA BEAT YOU!”

Rhodey had one hand clenched into the sweatshirt and one in the hem of the t-shirt, tugging on them both, when his knuckles skated across Tony’s ribs (over Rhodey’s undershirt that he hadn’t yet realized was also stolen) in just the right way to get Tony giggling like crazy.

Rhodey paused, briefly looking confused before an absolutely devilish light came to his eyes, a grin spreading across his face. “Tony… are you ticklish?”

“No!” Tony squeaked, trying to re-situate the stolen clothes.

Looking positively gleeful, Rhodey clawed both of his hands and attacked, tickling Tony mercilessly while he tried unsuccessfully to escape, laughing uncontrollably.

“Rhodey! No! Stop! Honey bear! No fair! No tickling!”

“This is my revenge!” Rhodey yelled over Tony’s laughter, laughing himself as Tony nearly slid right out of the stolen shirts in an attempt to get away from Rhodey’s tickling hands.

With a flop and bang, Tony rolled off the edge of the mattress and hit the hard floor, immediately scooting as far under the bed as he could get, still laughing his head off.

Rhodey was after him immediately, slinging his arm under the bed like a cat trying to get at the mouse shut on the other side of the door. “You cheater! Get back out here!”

“Never!” Tony shouted, scooting as far back against the wall as he could, dust flying up around him. “This is the only advantage I have, you might try to pick me up and drop me in the tub again!”

“You hadn’t stopped to eat or shower in three days, you had it coming to you!” Rhodey growled around a chuckle, still swiping around with his arm as he tried to wedge his shoulder into the narrow space. “How did you even fit under there?!”

Tony couldn’t talk for laughing, though that was impeded somewhat when he inhaled a rather large dust bunny and started coughing and choking on it. “Oh, gross!” He spluttered, his sides and cheeks aching from smiling, “I just breathed in a huge dust ball!”

“Serves you right, you little rat! AH HA!” Shouting in triumph, Rhodey’s hand closed on something cloth, and a moment later he was dragging a squalling Tony out from under the bed by the shoulder of his hoodie. He was covered in dust and his eyes were leaking tears from the oxygen deprivation, face red from laughing, coughing, and wheezing.

“I wanna be mad, but this is honestly so ridiculous I can’t.” Rhodey muttered, getting up on his feet and giving Tony another yank across the floor to make sure he couldn’t scootch back under the bed again. “Are you gonna die?”

Giggling weakly and trying to scrub dust off his face, Tony gave a thumbs up. “All good!”

“Good, because now you’re gonna go wash my clothes and give them back!” Rhodey swatted the back of a dusty head, trying to sound stern, but it was hopeless.

Tony opened his mouth to reply, gasping for air and still laughing, but whatever he was going to say never got said. At that moment, Dum-E charged into the room, his wheels squeaking, brandishing a large fire extinguisher in his gripper claw.

Rhodey and Tony barely had time to yell, “NO!” before they and the rest of their bedroom were being liberally sprayed with white foam. Rhodey’s feet slipped on the hard floor, toppling him over, and Tony never had a chance to do anything but uselessly scramble about on his hands and knees before he too was laid out flat under a blanket of fire suppressant.

The extinguisher finally ran empty after a minute or two, the entire room soaked, speckled, and coated with the white foam. From somewhere under it all, vaguely to the right, Rhodey started speaking.

“Y’know what, Tones?”

“Yes, platypus?” Casually replied a lump of foam on the left.

“You can keep the hoodie.”

Snorting and giggling, Tony set the both of them off again, and as Dum-E trundled out of the room, seemingly satisfied with a job well done, the two college boys just laid on their floor and laughed helplessly.


End file.
